Bead Snipper

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for cutting a stem to generate beads is provided. The apparatus includes a base member having a stem guide formed on a top surface of the base member, a cutting chamber positioned on the top surface of the base member, wherein the cutting chamber includes a cutting member for cutting the stem, and the cutting chamber includes a back end opening for sliding therethrough the stem and front end opening for dispensing the generated beads, measurement markings positioned along a length side of the stem guide, and an actuation member coupled the cutting member, thereby enabling the cutting member to cut the stem when actuated by a user.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national phase application of, claims priorityfrom, and incorporates by reference the disclosure of PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US2014/044690, filed Jun. 27, 2014, which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/840,321, filed on Jun. 27, 2013, andis also incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

A typical bead snipper may include a cutting member that is coupled to apress button and is housed in a chamber that has an opening foraccepting therethrough a stem and is horizontally aligned to a groovethat is directionally perpendicular to the opening and within which thecutting member is pressed in while cutting the stem. During operation,the user does not have a visible idea of a length of a generated beadand has to keep pushing the stem into the chamber after each cut inorder to generating additional beads.

A conventional bead snipper includes a housing that has on one back endan opening for sliding a stem into a chamber of the housing, a pushlever positioned on the top of the housing for cutting when pressed thestem into beads. The conventional stem snipper further includes asliding button positioned one side of the housing for controlling alength of the beads to be produced through a cutting process of thestem. However, during the cutting process of a stem, the user does nothave a visible idea of a length of a generated bead, and the beadsnipper also requires that the user keeps pushing the stem into thehousing to generate additional beads.

Accordingly, there is a need for, among other things, a bead snippingdevice that gives the user a mechanism advantage making it easier forthe user to cut the stems and tubes.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein is an apparatus that enables a user to keep snipping astem to generate beads while the stem is moved automatically after eachcutting operation.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus for cutting astem to generate beads is provided. The apparatus includes a base memberhaving a stem guide formed on a top surface of the base member. Acutting chamber is positioned on the top surface of the base member. Thecutting chamber includes a cutting member for cutting the stem, a backend opening for sliding the stem therethrough, and front end opening fordispensing the generated beads. Measurement markings are positionedalong a length side of the stem guide. An actuation member is coupledthe cutting member, thereby enabling the cutting member to cut the stemwhen actuated by a user.

In an additional embodiment, the apparatus includes a stem advancementmechanism configured to automatically advance the stem through thecutting chamber after each cutting operation. The stem advancementmechanism can be coupled to the cutting member so that the stemadvancement mechanism automatically advances the stem after the cuttingmember rises above the stem guide following a cutting operation. Thestem advancement mechanism can be coupled to the actuation member sothat the stem advancement mechanism automatically advances the stemafter the actuation member rises back from a pressed position.

In an additional embodiment, the apparatus further includes a biasingmember configured to return a lower cutting end of the cutting member toa predetermined position above the stem guide after the user stopsactuating the actuation member. The biasing member can be cooperativelyengaged to the cutting member. The biasing member also can becooperatively engaged to the actuation member.

In yet another embodiment, the base member include protrusions extendsvertically above the top surface and lengthwise along the stem guide toprevent the generated beads from sliding out of the stem guide.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of thefollowing attached detailed description and drawings. Moreover, it is tobe understood that both the foregoing summary of the present disclosureand the following detailed description of figures are exemplary andintended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope ofthe present disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bead snipping device in accordancewith the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bead snipping device of FIG. 1 onwhich a stem is shown being cut;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another example embodiment of the beadsnipping device of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another example embodiment of the beadsnipping device of the present disclosure.

These drawings illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure andtogether with the detailed description serve to explain the principlesof the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of thepresent disclosure in more detail than may be necessary for afundamental understanding of the disclosure and the various ways inwhich it may be practiced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and the various featuresand advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with referenceto the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/orillustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the followingattached description. It should be noted that the features illustratedin the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of oneembodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisanwould recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions ofwell-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as tonot unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the present disclosure. Theexamples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understandingof ways in which the present disclosure may be practiced and to furtherenable those of ordinary skills in the art to practice the embodimentsof the present disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and embodimentsherein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the presentdisclosure, which is defined solely by the appended claims andapplicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numeralsrepresent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

As stated above, typical bead snipping device/apparatus require that auser persistently pushes a bead stem towards a cutting feature/elementof the device in order to keep generating beads via cutting operations.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a device used for thepurpose of cutting stems, such as Perl stems, to produce Perl beads, andgives the user a mechanical advantage making easier for the user to cutthe stems and tubes while providing the user a measurement feature togenerate desirable sized beads, and may not require that the user keepshandling manually the stem during the bead generating process.

Now referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary embodiment of a snippingdevice 100 used for cutting or snipping bead materials, such as a beadmaterial used in crafting, is shown. The bead material may be beads,stems, rods, and the like. For example, the bead material may be PerlerBeads® or stems used in crafting.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, snipping device 100 includes a base 102, acutting chamber 104, and an actuation member (e.g., a cutting or pressarm) 106. Base 102 may include a top surface 108 in which a stemmaterial guide 110, such as a groove, a channel, or a bore, is routed.Alternatively, stem material guide may be a tube formed on top surface108. Stem material guide 110 is formed to maintain, position, and guidethe stem material that is desired to be cut into segments or pieces,such as beads. As shown, stem material guide 110 is rounded on thebottom 110 a and at both open ends, i.e., loading end (not shown) anddispensing end 110 b. In one embodiment, base 102 may includeprotrusions extended vertically above top surface 108 and lengthwisealong stem material guide 110 to prevent stems from sliding out of stemmaterial guide 110.

In one embodiment, the loading end of stem material guide 110 may betopped by a down facing groove 112 formed at a bottom end of cuttingchamber 104 to form a cylindrical channel 114 for the stem. As such, atthe loading end of stem material guide 110, cylindrical channel 114provides a loading opening through which the bead material stem can beloaded into snipping device 100.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, base 102 further includes measurementmarkings 110 c located adjacently lengthwise to stem material guide 110to enable the user to accurately cut the stems into different sizedbeads. As such, measuring stops of the stems enables the user toconsistently cut the bead material stem into desired sizes.

In one embodiment, base 102 may be sized and shaped to be aestheticallypleasing and to be and remain in a stable position on a supportingsurface during the stem cutting operations. For example, base 102 mayrest freely on a horizontal surface of a table or a desk or be attachedto an angled surface of a wall. Base 102 may include gaskets, feet, or abottom layer to provide shock absorbance during cutting operations.

As shown in FIG. 2, base 102 is configured to manually advance beadmaterial stem 202 by grasping a back end 202 a of bead material stem 202and pushing forward bead material stem 202 after each cut so that afront end of a remaining uncut portion of bead material stem 202 islined up next to a desirable length indicator of measurement markings110 c.

In one embodiment, base 102 may include an advancing member (not shown)that enables the user to advance or push forward bead material stem 202indirectly by pushing the advancing member.

In accordance with the present disclosure, cutting chamber 104 includesintegrally a stem advancement mechanism (not shown) that is configuredto automatically move bead material stem 202 after cutting operations.

In one embodiment, cutting chamber 104 includes therein a cutting member(not shown), such as a razor, a knife or the like, used to cut or snipbead material stem 202 within stem material guide 110, which is coupledto cutting arm 106 to handle the cutting or snipping process. Moreover,cutting member may be cooperatively engaged with a biasing member (notshown) that operates to return the cutting member to a desired positionabove stem material guide 110, and to raise angularly cutting arm 106 toa corresponding angle. Alternatively, biasing member may be directlyengaged with cutting arm 106 and indirectly to the cutting member viacutting arm 106. The biasing member may include a leaf spring, acompression spring, a torsion spring, and the like.

The cutting member may be positioned in cutting chamber 104 in aperpendicular direction to that of stem material guide 110, whichincludes an opening within which the cutting member enters so that beadmaterial stem 202 is cut on a vertical circumferential axis when cuttingarm 106 is pressed downwards by the user. Alternatively, the cuttingmember may be positioned in an angular non-perpendicular direction inrelation to stem material guide 110 to cut or snip stem material guide110 in a non-perpendicular manner. In one embodiment, the cutting membermay include a housing that receives a razor blade that can be removed orreplaced.

As stated above, snipping device 100 includes as an actuation member 106that is shaped a cutting/press arm. Alternatively, actuation member 106,hereafter referred to as press arm, may be a button, a lever, and thelike. Moreover, as discussed above with regard to press arm 106, theactuation member may be cooperatively engaged with the biasing member sothat a release of the actuation member by the user causes the cuttingmember to return to an open or ready to cut position. In lieu of beingcoupled to one another, the actuation member and the cutting member maybe connected as an integral mechanism, which in turn is connected to thebiasing member. For example, the actuation member may be a push buttonthat is directly connected to the cutting member that includes asharpened metal plate. As such, during a cutting operation, when theuser presses downwards on the push button the cutting member is moveddownwards through bead material stem 202.

In one embodiment, when the biasing member is directly engaged to theactuation member, then after bead material stem 202 is cut and the userhas stopped pressing the actuation member, the biasing member forcesback up the actuation member and the cutting member.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, press arm 106 may be configured to beaesthetically and/or ergonomically pleasing. Press arm 106 may be formedfrom comfortable material, sized and shaped to provide a large contactsurface for the user to press on, and may also an additional biasingmember to assist in the cutting motions.

Press arm 106 may be oriented on snipping device 100 in a desirabledirection that provides a desirable movement direction during thecutting operations. In one embodiment, press arm 106 may face the userand require the user to press down to cut bead material stem 202.Alternatively, press arm 106 may face away from the user or be turnedsideways with respect to the user, thereby allowing for other cuttingmotions such as pushing away or pulling towards the user.

As stated above, in one embodiment cutting chamber 104 may include astem advancement mechanism that is configured to automatically move beadmaterial stem 202 after each cutting operation, thereby removing arequirement that the user manually pushes bead material stem 202 aftereach cutting operation to generate additional beads. In one exemplaryembodiment, the stem advancement mechanism may be adjustable by the userto enable advancement of bead material stem 202 at different lengthsthereby enabling a production of beads with desirable lengths during aprocess of cutting bead material stem 202. Alternatively, the stemadvancement mechanism may be configured to advance bead material stem202 based on how high press arm 106 is allowed to be biasingly raisedafter the user stopped pressing it. As such, the user can select alength of advancement of bead material stem 202 by choosing acorresponding biased height of press arm 106.

During operation, the user holds bead material stem 202 to insert itinto and push it through a back opening of cutting chamber 104 to bringa front end of bead material stem 202 to a desired position on stemmaterial guide 110 wherein measurement markings 110 c indicates a lengthof the bead to be produced by cutting bead material stem 202. That is,the user uses measurement markings 110 c to aide in the selection ofsizes for the desired beads. The user then engages press arm 104 byapplying force in a required direction, thereby causing the cuttingmember to move in a direction to penetrate stem material guide 110 tocut there within bead material stem 202, and snipping the desired bead204 off bead material stem 202. The user then releases his/her pushingpressure on press arm 106 to which biasing member forces press arm 106back to the open or ready to cut position. The user then advances thebead material stem 202 within stem material guide 110 to a desiredposition to repeat the cutting process. Alternatively, bead materialstem 202 is automatically advanced within stem material guide 110 by thestem advancement mechanism by a length preselected by the user.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, to render snipping device 100 more stableduring cutting operations, base 102 may include suction cup machine feet302 and 402. Moreover, in lieu of positioning cutting chamber 104 near aback end of base 102, as shown in FIG. 3, cutting chamber 104 may beaway from the back end to provide additional support to a portion ofbead material stem 202 that has not yet penetrated cutting chamber 104.As shown in FIG. 3, stem material guide 110 is lengthy enough aftercutting chamber 104 to maintain therein a certain number of cut pieces,i.e., generated beads, of bead material stem 202. In another embodiment,base 102 may include a hollow portion (not shown) that is positioned acertain distance from cutting chamber 104 and that is wider than stemmaterial guide 110 to collect there within generated beads of beadmaterial stem 202.

While the present disclosure has been described in terms of exemplaryembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the presentdisclosure can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scopeof the appended claims. These examples given above are merelyillustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possibledesigns, embodiments, applications or modifications of the presentdisclosure.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate the features ofthe individual embodiments, and the possible combinations and variationsof the components. A person of ordinary skill in the art would furtherappreciate that any of the examples could be provided in any combinationwith the other examples disclosed herein. Additionally, the terms“first,” “second,” “third,” and “fourth” as used herein are intended forillustrative purposes only and do not limit the embodiments in any way.Further, the term “plurality” as used herein indicates any numbergreater than one, either disjunctively or conjunctively, as necessary,up to an infinite number. Additionally, the word “including” as usedherein is utilized in an open-ended manner.

While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the bestmode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modificationsmay be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may beimplemented in various forms and examples, and that the teachings may beapplied in numerous applications, only some of which have been describedherein. It is intended by the following claims to claim any and allapplications, modifications and variations that fall within the truescope of the present teachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for cutting a stem to generatebeads, comprising: a base member having a top surface; a stem guideformed on the top surface of the base member; a cutting chamberpositioned on the top surface of the base member, wherein the cuttingchamber includes a cutting member for cutting the stem, the cuttingchamber further including a back end opening for sliding the stemtherethrough, and a front end opening for dispensing generated beads;measurement markings positioned along a length of the stem guide; and anactuation member coupled the cutting member, the actuation membermoveable to a cutting position, wherein when the actuation member ismoved to the cutting position the cutting member is positioned to cutthe stem.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a stemadvancement mechanism configured to automatically advance the stemthrough the cutting chamber after each cutting operation.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the stem advancement mechanism is coupledto the cutting member, wherein the stem advancement mechanismautomatically advances the stem after the cutting member rises above thestem guide following a cutting operation.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the stem advancement mechanism is coupled to the actuationmember, wherein the stem advancement mechanism automatically advancesthe stem after the actuation member rises back from a pressed position.5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a biasing memberconfigured to return a lower cutting end of the cutting member to apredetermined position above the stem guide after the user stopsactuating the actuation member.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein thebiasing member is cooperatively engaged with the cutting member.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 5, wherein the biasing member is cooperativelyengaged with the actuation member.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe base member includes a hollow portion positioned at a distance fromthe front end opening of the cutting chamber, the hollow portion beingof a width greater than a width of the stem guide.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the stem guide is rounded at a bottom end and at bothof a back loading end and a front dispensing end.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the base member include protrusions extended verticallyabove the top surface and lengthwise along the stem guide.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the actuation member is a press arm, apush button, or a lever.